Glenwood Springs Player Wins $400,000 in Powerball

DENVER – Lucky is an understatement when describing one Colorado Lottery player. Ricky Day of Glenwood Springs once cheated death when a car accident led to six months in a coma and eight months in the hospital.

Doctors told him he wouldn’t be able to walk again, but he proved them wrong. Then the U.S. Army veteran received another dose of incredible luck when he won $400,000 in the Powerball drawing on August 15.He matched the first five numbers (19, 22, 24, 38 and 51) but not the Powerball number of 9. He was just shy of hitting the jackpot.

The prize is usually $200,000, but he paid an extra dollar to multiply his winnings with the Power Play option. The Power Play number drawn that night was 2, which doubled his winnings to $400,000.

“I feel like I’m in a dream,” he said “When I checked the numbers in the paper, I just hoped it wasn’t a misprint.”

Day plans to use his winnings to upgrade his 1992 Toyota Tercel to a new Ford Mustang and help his family.

The retailer that sold the winning ticket is City Market, 1410 Grand Ave. in Glenwood Springs. The retailer receives a $3,000 bonus for selling the ticket.

In Garfield County, more than $15 million in Lottery proceeds have helped to improve community facilities, local parks and nature trails such as the Colorado River Trail (South Canyon and Rifle Segments), Veltus Park Fishing Pier and Glenwood Springs Skate Rink.

Proceeds from the Colorado Lottery’s games - Scratch, Lotto, Powerball and Cash 5 - stay in Colorado to improve the quality of life in the state. In fiscal year 2007, more than $117 million was returned to Colorado. Since the lottery started in 1983, more than $1.9 billion has been returned to the state.